It is well known in the art to provide a mechanic's tool carrier in the form of a sliding cart for supporting the back of a mechanic as he slides beneath the engine compartment of a motor vehicle to enable him to access and repair various vehicle components from below. However, when working on various components of the engine compartment from above, it is necessary for the mechanic to lean over the radiator or fenders of the vehicle in order to work on various engine components. This becomes inconvenient and uncomfortable when working on hard-to-reach components of an engine, such as the back side of the carburetor, a distributor, intake manifold, PCV valve, windshield wiper, or heater motor, etc.
A continuing difficulty is that of finding a suitable interim storage location for mechanic's tools, used parts and accessories removed from the vehicle, and new parts and accessories to be installed in the vehicle. Ideally, the interim storage location should be readily accessible, centrally located, yet retain the tools and accessories without allowing them to be spilled or dislodged into the numerous interstices which reside under the hood of the vehicle in the engine compartment.
Another problem which has hitherto been unsolved is that of organizing the tools and accessories while, at the same time, storing them. In practice, it has been found that when a miscellany of tools, parts, and accessories become intermixed within a container, the smaller components tend to settle into the more difficult-to-reach crevices of the container, so that such small tools and accessories become difficult to see and hard to reach, particularly one-handedly.
Another problem remaining unsolved by previous approaches arises from the difficulty of mounting an accessory tray atop differently sized carburetors which are found to be associated with various engines. In practice, the diameter of carburetor throat varies from one carburetor to another. To accommodate the different sizes of carburetors upon which an accessory tray may be mounted, it would be helpful to have an accessory tray which has interchangeable bases with different diameters. This feature would enable one to select a given base according to its diameter, so as to enable the base to circumscribe the throat of the particular carburetor upon which work is being performed.
Accordingly, it is an object of the accessory tray of the present invention to provide a stable receptacle in which tools, parts, and accessories can readily be stored and organized in a convenient location in the working area proximate the engine compartment of a vehicle.